GOVERNMENT: Both president and the 100-member unicameral
National Assembly are elected for five-year terms by direct universal
suffrage. All officeholders are members of the sole political party, the Democratic Party of Ivory Coast (Parti Démocratique de Côte
d'Ivoire--PDCI), headed by the president of the republic. The president is sole custodian of executive power. He appoints and dismisses
ministers, who are responsible to him, and determines their functions.

3.

CONSTITUTION: The Constitution (promulgated on November 3,
1960) provides for a strong presidency within the framework of a
separation of powers and for a unitary relationship between the central government and the départements (provinces).

4.

POPULATION: Estimated 5,013,000 in 1973. Abidjan estimated at
500,000. The sixty ethnic groups are commonly grouped into seven
clusters: Akan, Lagoon, Krou, Nuclear Mandé, Peripheral Mandé,
Sénoufo, and Lobi. There has been substantial immigration from
neighboring countries, so the foreign population is estimated at nearly
one-fourth the total. Rural migration to urban areas, especially Abidjan, has also been substantial.

5.

SIZE: 125,780 square miles.

6.

TOPOGRAPHY: The southern boundary is a 340-mile coastline on
the Gulf of Guinea. There are coastal lagoons in the southeast. The
southern region is densely forested, especially in the thinly populated
southwest. The northern region is a savanna zone of lateritic or sandy
soils, with vegetation decreasing from south to north within the region.
The inland south-central area is lush tropical forest. The country is flat
except in the northwest, where the Man Mountains rise to 4,800 feet.

7.

CLIMATE: A warm and humid equatorial climate, with but two
short dry seasons, covers all except the northwestern area. The northwest is tropical, with a single rainy season (March-September). The
annual rainfall is over fifty inches in both zones and heaviest along the
coast and western mountain area. The range of temperature is narrow,
particularly in the south.

8.

LANGUAGES: Official language is French; many local languages.

9.

RELIGION: Almost 25 percent of the population are Muslims, 12 to
13 percent are Christians, and the remainder adhere to local religions.

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